Born in Chihuahua, Chihuahua on October 16, 1839, Pacheco
was a merchant, an army general, and a cabinet officer in his life. He was a
businessman until 1855. In January, 1858, he was imprisoned on suspicion of
being part of the Félix Zuloaga rebellion. Once his innocence was established,
he joined the Liberal army commanded by General Esteban Coronado. By 1866, he
had risen to the rank of captain. He came part of the Army of the East commanded
by General Porfirio Díaz
and took part in the Battle of Puebla on April
2, 1867. He lost an arm and a leg. His valor earned him a promotion to
Lieutenant Colonel. When Díaz revolted against President Sebastián Lerdo
de Tejada in 1876, Pacheco joined him. He now began his civilian political
career.
His close ties to Díaz offered him a life in politics.
He became a federal deputy, governor of the state of Morelos, governor of
the state of Puebla, governor of the Federal District, state, and, in November,
1879, Secretary of War and Navy. He created naval schools in Mazatlán and
Campeche.
During the presidency of Manuel González (1884-88), Díaz'
childhood friend, Pacheco was Secretary of Development, Industry, Colonization, and
Commerce. He worked to foster economic development and made the concessions for
the building of most of the trunk railroad lines in the country. Before he
died on September 15, 1891, Mexico had 8,000 kilometers of railroad track and
50,000 kilometers of telegraph wire; this was Pecheco's greatest achievement.